Heat Lamps

[sebloc]

Hello
I'm pretty much new to this, so.
I was wondering, at what time periods should heat lamps be removed? At what point are they no longer needed? It obviously is determined by breed, but I was just looking for a rough estimate. Thanks!

 

[micah wotring]

The third post in this thread has some good info.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1093006/how-to-raise-heat-lamp

This is a good alternative to a heat lamp.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/brooding-with-mama-heating-pad

Micah

 

[azygous]

Think of brooding chicks not so much as heating them, but weaning them off heat. And you are merely providing a "campfire" for the chicks to warm themselves as they lose body heat.

They start growing feathers during their first week, so they will need to warm themselves less by the start of their second week. And each week thereafter they grow in more insulating feathers, so that by the time they have all their feathers and are well insulated against losing body heat, they will no longer need any heat source to warm themselves, usually by the end of four weeks. By that time, the food they eat is keeping them warm while the feathers prevent them from losing body heat.

You will know the heat source is ready to be removed when the chicks are no longer using it.

 

[sebloc]

Thanks all.

 

[micah wotring]

Sure, I remember when I was first learning to brood chicks. That was back before I found BackYard Chickens. A lot of good chicks died.

I finally called up my granddad and he was overjoyed that some one in the family would take up farming.

I relied completely on my granddad.

He helped me out until I eventually found BYC. I have learned something new every day since.

Haha, gotta love it

Micah